luck Meaning & Definition

Synonyms of Luck

Luck in a Sentence

A raffle is just a matter of luck, and I've really had rotten luck lately...

Brianna's luck changed when she won the vehicle and cash in the contest.

Sometimes it takes a bit of luck to get success.

I couldn't believe my luck when I won the $10,000.

He blew on the dice for luck.

I wish you lots of luck for the exam tomorrow.

I tried for ages to find a pair of blue suede shoes, but didn't have any luck.

He has a lot of luck with the ladies. Perhaps it's because of his new motorbike.

The creators of tool-assisted speedruns often manipulate luck to get the most favorable results in order to save the most time.

Gilbert had some bad luck yesterday — he got pick-pocketed and lost fifty dollars.

He has a lot of luck with the ladies, perhaps it is because of his new motorbike.

The creators of tool-assisted speedruns often manipulate a lot of luck to get the most favorable results in order to save the most time.

His plan lucked out.

No plan. We're just to going to have to luck through.

Our plan is to luck it through.

Word Forms & Grammar

luck (usually uncountable, plural lucks)

luck (third-person singular simple present lucks, present participle lucking, simple past and past participle lucked)

Words That Rhyme With Luck

Origin of Luck

Origin 1: From Middle English luk, lukke, from Middle Dutch luc, geluc, gelucke (“good luck, fortune”) or Middle Low German lücke, gelücke (“lot, fortune, fate, luck”), of obscure origin; perhaps ultimately related to German Lücke (“gap, opening”) in the sense of "space or opportunity", hence "chance". Cognate with West Frisian gelok (“luck”), Saterland Frisian Gluk (“luck”), Dutch luk, geluk (“luck, happiness”), Dutch Low Saxon luk (“luck”), German Low German and German Glück (“luck, good fortune, happiness”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål lykke (“luck, happiness”), Norwegian Nynorsk lukke (“luck, happiness”), Swedish lycka (“luck, happiness”), Icelandic lukka (“happiness”). According to the OED, it may be related to lock.

Origin 2: A loanword into English in the 15th century (probably as a gambling term), Middle Dutch luc, gelucke has parallels with Middle High German lücke, gelücke ("luck, skill, chance, profession, livelihood"; whence Modern German Glück). The word occurs only from the 12th century, apparently first in Rhine Frankish. Perhaps from a Frankish *galukki, derived from Proto-Germanic *lukjǭ (“opening”). The word enters standard Middle High German during the 13th century, and spreads to English and Scandinavian in the Late Middle Ages. Its origin seems to have been regional or dialectal, and there were competing German words such as gevelle or schick, or the Latinate fortūne from Latin fortūna. Its etymology is unknown, although there are numerous proposals as to its derivations from a number of roots.

Origin 3: Use as a verb in American English is late (1940s), but there was a Middle English verb lukken (“to chance, to happen by good fortune”) in the 15th century.